Inverted
by annavale23
Summary: Grant Ward has always been loyal to SHIELD. He thought Skye felt the same way. [Reversed Roles AU: Skye is HYDRA, Grant is SHIELD]. Now extended, please read and review!
1. Chapter 1: Skye, Why?

**This was originally posted as a one-shot for the Skyeward Month Week Three Day One AU prompt: Reversed Roles. But since I enjoyed writing it so much, I decided to post a second chapter to it. But for you who haven't read my original one-shot, here's the edited version! (I added in a few things, but nothing too big).**

 _ **(AU: Reversed Roles: Skye is HYDRA, Grant is SHIELD).**_

* * *

Bile rises in Grant's throat as he stumbles back, Koenig's slack-jawed face implanted on the back of his eyeballs. He's seen dead bodies before, in worse shape than this one, but it's not the _how_ that's making him heave. It's the _who_.

He can't even imagine how she could have done this: Skye, who's basically as weak as a _kitten_ , garrotting this man and shoving him in between two shelves. Grant turns away from the body – _don't think of it as a person, don't think of what Skye did –,_ taking a few shallow, almost panicked breaths. Everything was going so _perfect_ too. Skye and he were kissing, and finally Grant hoped that for once something would work out for him. That maybe this might be _it_ : the thing that changes him from the socially awkward 'Robot' to… to _Skye's_ socially awkward robot.

But now there's a _dead body_. A _dead body_ in the _store room_.

It's clear to him that Skye killed him. The blood on her neck proves that, and the fact that it's only them here alone right now. Because May took off.

Or… did she? If Skye could kill Koenig, does that mean she killed May too? Suspicion prickles on the back of his neck.

 _May's the Calvary. There's no way anyone could get the jump on her._ Grant tries to reassure himself. _Especially not Skye._

But he doesn't really know Skye now, does he? The Skye he knows couldn't have killed Koenig. So maybe this Skye, the _real_ Skye, could have.

Grant vaguely hears himself hyperventilate. He can't hear anything clearly right now as the panic rises up. Skye could have killed May. Skye actually killed Koenig.

Skye could try to kill him.

After all, what does she need him for? He's basically just the hired muscle, and Skye's clearly strong enough to look after herself. So logically, killing him is the perfect next step. What would HYDRA need him for? Why is Skye loyal to them? Grant closes his eyes, trying to bring himself back under control. He needs to remain _in control_. He reviews the facts as he presses his forehead against the cold wall.

Number one: Skye is HYDRA.

Number two: Skye is a murderer.

Number three: _He's alone with her._

"Grant?" Her voice cuts through the silence that follows that last point, and Grant freezes before glancing down at the tablet map in his hands. It shows Skye a corridor over, so he thinks fast, dropping the tablet to the floor as he scrambles out of the room. Quickly, knowing he has little time, he ducks into one of the side rooms, seeing the pull down window/picture things. It takes him 5 seconds to rip his message into it before switching the design to the unmarked version. Hopefully someone will notice it and see the message before it's too late. He steps out of the room, barely managing to shut the door before-

"Grant," Skye smiles, and Grant jumps about half a mile into the air. "Hey, you." She keeps smiling.

"Sk…Skye." Grant stumbles over his words in fright. _You've got to get a grip, or she'll know that you're onto her!_

"Where'd you disappear off to?" She asks, laying a hand onto his arm. Grant stares at it for half a second before it clicks.

 _She's just like a mark._ He just has to play a part until he sees an opportunity. That's all. _I just have to do my job._

"Bathroom." Grant slips into an easy smile. "Don't worry, I wasn't running away." He teases lightly, even slipping an arm around her shoulders. He has to make it seem believable, after all.

"I thought I scared you off for a moment there." Skye gazes up at him. "I know you're not the most…" She hesitates, looking down. _She's not the Skye you know._ He repeats in the back of his head. _She's not the Skye you know._

"You'll never scare me off Skye." Grant promises even as Koenig's body flashes behind his eyes. "I'm not that easily scared, you know."

"That's good to hear." Skye's eyes meet his again. "Anyway, Coulson called. He wants us to unlock the information."

Grant's blood runs cold. What are the chances that Coulson actually called? It's more likely that Skye's taking him somewhere to kill him. Or maybe she'll take him to HYDRA. Either way, he's dead if he goes with her.

"Oh, okay." Grant's expression shows none of his inner thoughts. "Where do we have to go then?"

"I set the encryption to unlock at a specific location." Skye answers. "So Coulson says we should head there to unlock it."

"Are we meeting them there then?" Grant inquires innocently, watching to see how Skye will lie. He knows that if he leaves with Skye, he's going to have to fight his way free. Can he hurt Skye? Probably. The real question is if he _wants_ to hurt Skye. A part of him is still in heaven that she kissed him, even as Koenig's body is burned into his retinas. But Grant doesn't want to die. He knows he wants to live. So if – no, _when_ – it comes down to it, he's going to have to fight her.

"No, we're going to meet up with them afterwards." Skye shakes her head. "It's quicker that way."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want HYDRA getting us, would we?" Grant says, mainly as a test. How will Skye react to the name that holds her allegiance?

"You can fly, right?" Skye asks him instead of responding to his question. "Since May left-"

"You said you saw her leave." Grant interrupts. "Did she say where she was going?"

Skye shakes her head again. _That doesn't mean she killed May, it doesn't._

"Anyway, let's go." She offers him her hand, gently shrugging his arm off her shoulder. Grant swallows, steeling himself as he slips his hand into hers. _You're a murderer, Skye._ "Maybe when this is all done… we can go back to what we were doing before." She suggests shyly, looking up at him from under her eyelashes.

Instead of responding verbally, Grant leans down and crushes his lips against hers, a voice screaming in the back of his mind. This isn't the first time he's kissed a murderer, not by a long shot, but it's the first time that he's felt repulsed by what he's doing.

 _Skye, why? Why did you have to be HYDRA?_

Skye blinks up at him with her liquid chocolate eyes, looking as innocent as a baby deer. _You're a murderer._

"Let's go."

* * *

"Grant, I love you!" Skye tells him a little while later even as she ties his wrists to the stair banister. He can't fight back against her: Grant can feel his eyes getting heavier as the drug she managed to inject him with takes effect. Mike Peterson stands a watchful guard. Could he be an ally? Grant doesn't think so, not with that eye implant. He's under it's orders, shown by how Peterson just tackled him and injected him with the drug. Even on high alert, Grant didn't sense Deathlok until it was too late. But it makes sense: he's Skye's protection, in case everything goes to hell. Absentmindedly, he wonders if it was a shock for Deathlok when he found out Skye's true nature like it was for him.

Grant knows that his chances of the team rescuing him are little to none. So he is totally and utterly on his own, defenceless as the sedative takes hold. He has no idea if he'll ever wake up again.

"Is that… Is that why you're doin' this?" Grant finds it hard to talk. His tongue is going numb. "…'Cause if that is why, then… this isn't _love_ , Skye. It's… _obsession._ "

Skye's pained look is the last thing he sees before his eyes shut.

* * *

When he next fights Skye, he realises how much she's been holding back. How much she's been _lying_ to them.

"What about the shooting, Skye?" He yells at her, blocking her next punch easily. "Did you really let yourself get nearly killed for HYDRA? For the 'miracle drug'?" How could she do this? How could she _betray_ them?

How could she betray _him?_

He can still see her smile, feel her lips against his, feel his heart beat faster as she closed in to kiss him. He can still see her lying like a bloody version of Snow White inside that cryochamber. He can still feel the powerlessness he felt then. But-

That powerlessness is no longer there. His anger lends him strength as he throws move after move at Skye, forcing her to work harder to evade him. Her breath comes in short huffs as her heart pounds, racing to pump oxygen around her body. Meanwhile, Grant feels invigorated. His anger fills his veins, strengthening his muscles and giving him the will to fight.

"Garrett needs it!" She shouts back. "Grant, he was your S.O., and he's _dying._ Do you feel nothing for him?"

One of his punches finally connect, hitting her down, splitting her lip wide open. She skids her hands against the dusty floor, her palms scraping, and is about to climb back up, her eyes flashing dangerously. She's not going to be playing around anymore. She's going to be fighting with all she's got.

Then a banshee like howl pushes past her lips as he staples her foot to the ground, before knocking her straight out with the staple gun.

"No." He says quietly, even though there's no-one to hear him.

* * *

In their new base, Vault D is a place Grant can always feel.

It has a dark, ugly and hypnotising presence that he's always aware of, that creeping feeling across his shoulders and the burning sense of shame when his feelings for that presence rise up. That presence haunts him in the day; it lingers in the night. It's a shadow that he can't shake, a stain across his soul.

Moving on since the day the old SHIELD fell have not been easy. It's been hard to figure out who to trust, and who's the enemy. But Grant thinks that maybe, just maybe, he'll be able to forget about that presence in the basement. He thinks that maybe he'll be able to look at a computer and not see her; he thinks he'll be able to hear the words 'I love you' without thinking of her. But most of all, Grant Ward thinks that he will never have to see the woman who took his heart and shredded it into tiny pieces with 5 letters; one word. _HYDRA_.

He is naïve to think that, but he doesn't know it quite yet.

"Sir, you asked for me?" Grant peeks his head around the side of the door. May and Coulson stand there, and beckon him in. May gazes out of a window, her arms crossed across her chest.

"We have a job for you." Coulson says, his eyes stiff. Grant looks back uncertainly. He doesn't like the look in Coulson's eyes.

"We need you to talk to Skye."

* * *

 **Did you like it? I hope so.**

 **Anyway, if you want, please review! Hearing what you guys think is the best thing about writing this.**

 **(This is still one of my favourite pieces I've ever written for Skyeward).**

 **Please check out the second part too, in the next chapter! :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Down In Vault D

**The promised second part! This takes place in the first episode of Season Two.**

 _ **(AU: Reversed Roles: Skye is HYDRA, Ward is SHIELD).**_

* * *

His footsteps echo in his ears almost as a second heartbeat as he walks down the stairs, the tablet that controls the wall in his hands. He presses a button on his way down the stairs, turning the wall see-through.

He didn't want to do this. He _doesn't_ want to do this. Grant is certain of it. Seeing Skye is not going to be a good idea, but he's forever the loyal agent. Coulson's been so supportive of him after the whole… incident, as he's taken to calling his life with Skye in it, so Grant owes him this at least.

She doesn't speak as word as he walks to stand in front of her cell, merely climbing to her feet. Grant stares at her, his eyes absorbing the familiar planes of her face. Even now, paler with longer, scruffy hair, she's still the most beautiful thing in the world.

"Grant." She says softly, her cracked lips twisting into a smile. Prison clothes don't suit her, he realises. They only exaggerate her slender frame. Her feet are bare. For some reason, that bothers him. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" She's still smiling.

For a moment, Grant is lost for words. His throat closes up, and all he can hear are those words echoing in the back of his mind.

 _I love you, Grant._

 _I've never lied to you. Especially not about my feelings towards you._

 _My feelings_ _are real, Grant._

A part of him longs to hear his name, like liquid honey on her tongue, spill from her lips. A part of him is eager to see her after all this time. That part starts to commit her face into his memory fresh: he supposes the nightmares will be more vivid now. Skye haunts him day and night, but that was fine when he didn't have to lay eyes on her. But now he can see her, as real as anything in front of him… It's all so real.

The force field is strong around her, so there's no chance she's going to get out, or any chance that he could get in. Still, he doesn't feel exactly comfortable standing a few feet away from the woman who's quite royally fucked them all over.

"What brings you down to my humble abode?" Skye tries for humour after he doesn't respond. "If I had known you were coming, I would have tidied up, or something."

"Cut the crap, Skye." He's finally able to summon words. "I didn't come down here to socialise."

"On that note, how are you anyway?" Skye has the gall to ask. She peers at him, shuffling closer to the force field. Grant can't help himself: he falters, taking a step back, something that doesn't go unnoticed by Skye.

"You look tired." She observes. "Are you getting enough sleep?"

"Carl Creel." Grant says instead of yelling at her. He has to remain calm. There's no need for her to know that he can't sleep, not really. "You know him?"

Skye's eyes show no visible recognition.

"Why?" She asks, her voice clipped. All of the kindness has disappeared from it now that she knows of his true purpose in coming down here.

"What do you know about him?" Grant answers with a question, his fingers digging into his palm. Skye shrugs, the prison top almost falling off one shoulder.

"Got a picture?"

Wordlessly, Grant taps at the tablet in his hands, and in a few seconds, a small picture has appeared on the force field wall. Skye walks forward – _she can't get out of there –_ and the light shines on her. Grant's eyes are drawn to her arms: or more like the surprisingly neat lines on each arm, cast in shadow. Skye follows his gaze before smiling wryly.

"Did Coulson not tell you?" She says. "I went through a rough patch."

"What did you do?" The question bursts out of him without permission. He doesn't want to know what she's done to herself down here. He doesn't want to know anything about her.

"Turns out, if you fold a piece of paper just right, it can get sharp." She keeps smiling. "Sharp enough to cut through skin. I planned it well, but…" She shrugs. "Next time, I got sloppy. A button, on the back of these pants. I broke it in two, and cut in. When that didn't work, I started throwing myself at the walls."

"Not hard enough." Grant's surprised to hear the venomous words drip from his tongue. Skye ignores his comment.

"But when I awoke, I gained a new awareness." Her eyes shine. "I realised what I had done was wrong. And now, anything I know is yours."

"Well, that solves _everything_." Sarcasm is heavy in his words. "You know that you did wrong? Skye, what you did wasn't _wrong._ It was _despicable._ You can't just apologise and think it'll be okay-" He's shouting now, he knows, but he can't – or won't – stop himself. "You ruined our lives, Skye. You nearly _killed_ Fitz, you _actually_ killed Koenig, you made me think that you _cared_ for me, for the _team_ , and all that time you were just _pretending!"_

His voice echoes off the ceiling; his chest is heaving.

"I do care for you, Grant." Skye says gently a few moments later. "I _love-"_

"Just don't, Skye." He interrupts her. "I don't want to hear it." How could he have ever thought himself over her? He was being stupid, because as long as Skye exists, she's always going to be with him. "You think you can just see what you was doing was wrong, and everyone will forgive you? Because think again. Fitz is _brain damaged_ because of you. You've destroyed Simmons, making her see Fitz like that." _And you've destroyed me._

"Grant, I didn't mean for it to go that far." Skye's still trying to reason with him. "Chucking Fitzsimmons out of that plane was their only way of survival!" She's starting to raise her voice. "Otherwise I would have had to shoot them. I _saved their lives!"_

Grant stares at her for a moment. In that moment, he imagines what their life would have been without HYDRA. Maybe Skye and he would have dated, maybe he would have fallen in love, maybe they would gotten married and had kids, the whole deal.

But she _is_ HYDRA.

Ever since that day where he found Koenig's body, his whole world changed. _Skye_ changed him. He's more unsociable – which is saying something –, he can't trust anyone: he always thinks that they're going to betray him, and he doesn't think he'll ever be able to love again.

All.

Because.

Of.

 _Her._

He hates her for what she's done. But most of all, he hates himself for still loving her.

"Carl Creel. Tell me what you know." He brings the conversation back onto track. Skye obliges, studying the picture.

"I don't know much." She begins. "Creel was a boxer. Garrett hoped he'd be useful, so kept him stashed away. But I do know that he can take on the appearance of any substance he touches, so be careful."

Grant doesn't know what to think. The traitor is concerned for his well-being.

"Don't die out there." Skye tries to smile.

Grant knows Coulson will send him back down here again. He's the only one Skye will talk to, and they'll need her intel.

But he wishes that they didn't. He wishes that with all his being. Because how can he move on with his life if he has to keep seeing his past in the basement?

He has no choice though. If Coulson calls, he'll answer. In truth, Grant blames himself for not picking up on her deception. He was her S.O. He should have noticed.

But he was too enthralled with the hacker to see anything wrong.

"Are you telling the truth?" He asks her.

"I'll never lie to you, Grant." She promises solemnly. "Because I-"

Grant mutes the wall, not wanting to hear the words out loud.

 _\- love you._

* * *

 **I hope you loved this as much as I did when writing it. There's something so interesting about writing about reversed roles, probably because Skye's position is pretty vulnerable here in the show, so it's interesting to write about Grant feeling that way, especially since you don't get to see stuff like this in the actual show.**

 **I'm not promising anything, but there might be a chance of a third chapter at some point in the future. But who knows with my writing schedule?**

 **Reviews please?**

 **{ QUICK NOTE TO PEOPLE WHO READ _ANCHOR_ : The next chapter is still in progress, so I'm super sorry about that! Whenever I try to write it, whatever I write is complete and utter drivel. And I doubt that Season Three will get me out of this rut, so bear with me!}**


	3. Chapter 3: Truth-Telling

**Hey again! A few quick notes:**

 **First, the updates on _Inverted_ are not likely to be long, or frequent. It all depends on if I have any inspiration.**

 **Secondly, I'm trying to work on this new idea for this fic, but as per usual, it's fighting me.**

 **Thirdly, I'm sorry if anything seems slightly repetitive. But in a fic like this, with Skye being focused on wanting Grant to forgive her, there's likely to be a slight repetitive tone to the chapters.**

 **And finally, thanks to everyone who's followed, favourite and/or reviewed this fic! :)**

 **(Also, since AOS hasn't been shown where I live, and I don't really have any plans to watch it anyway, please: don't leave any spoilers in the reviews! I'm trying to avoid hearing too much about the show).**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Truth Telling**

"I heard you had a thing with the prisoner in the basement." Grant's jaw tightens at the Englishman's question. He turns away from his conversation with Fitz to glare at the man.

"What?" Lance Hunter drops himself into the seat next to Grant, a bottle of beer dangling from his fingers. "Can't a newbie ask these things?"

"We don't t-talk about her." Fitz says, stumbling over his words slightly – an everlasting testament to Skye's betrayal. Every time he speaks, all Grant can think of is her.

"Come on, Ward. I'll tell you about my she-devil of an ex-wife if you tell me about your HYDRA snake girlfriend." Hunter wheedles, taking a long gulp from his beer.

"She wasn't my girlfriend!" Grant snaps suddenly. Hunter laughs lowly.

"Oooohh, touchy!" He keeps laughing. The noise echoes around Grant's head, circling and circling.

"Hunter, stop being a jerk." Simmons walks into the room, frowning at Hunter. "You don't understand what Skye did."

"Well, no-one will tell me anything about the HYDRA girl in our basement!" He protests while Simmons hands Fitz a bottle of water. "So how am I meant to know anything?"

"He has a point." Simmons has to agree. "No-one does tell anyone about her."

 _That's the point._ Grant says in his head. _So she's not real. Don't give her any more substance than she already does._

"So come on. How's a new guy meant to learn what he can and can't say anymore?" Hunter persists.

"Skye used to be on our team." Simmons starts to tell him. She's recovered the most from Skye's betrayal, but Grant thinks that's because someone's got to be strong. After Fitz's injury, she decided that she had to save him like he had saved her, so Simmons rarely shows anything other than concern nowadays.

"And she went behind our back to help HYDRA take over SHIELD. Ward discovered her treachery, and managed to warn us. We locked her up, and that's really it." Simmons has skipped over a lot. How Skye pushed both Simmons and Fitz into the ocean to drown, how she managed to worm her way into May's trust by asking her to teach her Chinese, so Skye could connect with her 'true heritage'. How she pretended to be searching for her parents, so Coulson would feel sorry for her. And of course, how she lied to Grant and made him fall in love with her, effectively making him almost useless against her.

"So how does Ward and HYDRA girl fit into that all?" Hunter wants to know. "Was there some inter-agency banging?" He waggles his eyebrows.

"It wasn't like that." Grant growls.

"You were her SO, right? So sure, it wasn't like that." Hunter shakes his head disbelievingly. "I mean, training is basically just _full_ of sexual positions, if you think about it."

"It wasn't like that." Grant repeats, balling his hands up into fists.

"Whatever you say, mate." Hunter smirks to himself. Grant gets to his feet suddenly and stalks off, taking short, controlled breaths to keep himself calm.

"He's touchy about her, isn't he?" He hears Hunter comment before he moves out of earshot.

* * *

Skye's entire face brightens as he steps into her cell, like the sun is shining for the first time in forever.

He hates it.

Why does she act like he's her entire world? It's too much for him to deal with. He _can't_ deal with it.

"Coulson wants you to ask me something, then?" She asks, her tone light. Her dry lips twitch into a smile as he stops a few feet short of her cell. She looks the same as last time: a prisoner who's only joy is seeing him.

"Why did you do it?" His question is short; abrupt. He shouldn't be here; Coulson's going to find out soon.

"Excuse me?" Skye's smile freezes on her face. One hand starts to rub at her opposite arm nervously. Her eyes dart around, pausing only briefly on the security cameras before they come back to rest on him.

"Why the _fuck_ did you do it, Skye?" He snarls. Skye takes a small step back, her face still frozen. "Why the fuck did you _betray_ us?"

"Grant, you need to calm down." She says, holding out a hand towards him. Her eyes look apprehensive. She's never seen him like this. She's never seen him so raw, other than in their final fight. "Okay? Does Coulson know you're here?"

"Just answer my question, Skye!" He yells back at her. Blood is pounding in his ears. "Because I just can't figure out you, okay? You were part of our team! You shared every single moment with us, so why could you just turn around and _screw_ us over?"

"I didn't want to, Grant." She's surprisingly remaining calm despite his anger. "But why are you asking me this all now?"

"Because I can't _do_ it anything anymore." He's shaking worse than a falling autumn leaf. "Whenever anyone asks about you, I have to tell them what you did to the team. What you did to _me._ "

"I'm _sorry_!" She shouts at him. "Okay? I'm _so_ sorry about what I did, and I _regret_ it every single waking moment."

"That doesn't change anything Skye." Grant runs a hand through his hair. "Do you know what just happened up there? Some guy asked me about you. They call you my 'HYDRA girlfriend'. Do you know what that _feels_ like?"

"I'm sorry." She whispers, her eyes massive in her pale face. She looks so truthful that Grant almost lets himself believe her latest lie in the web she'd created.

"People think of me, and they immediately think of you too. They know me as the guy who was too stupid to realise that the girl I was in love with was a fucking sleeper agent!" He spits. "I'm the fool. The person who trained you and didn't realise that you were _pretending_ to be weak when we fought. The person who, for a few moments, believed that you maybe might love me _back_."

"Grant, I'm sorry for what I did. But I didn't-" She begins.

"Have a choice?" Grant cuts her off. "We _always_ have a choice, Skye. You could have told someone."

"Told who?" Skye's face darkens with anger. "Coulson? He'd have turned me over to Fury, who would have locked me up in the Fridge. I didn't want to _rot_ , okay? Following Garrett was my only way out."

"You could have told _me_." Grant says, his voice raw with emotion. "I wouldn't have judged you."

"You would have." Skye shakes her head. Her hands clench and unclench into fists as she keeps her eyes averted.

"If you'd told me the truth, asked me to hear you out, I would have listened." The truth that has been dwelling inside him spills out. If Grant thought it would make him feel better, it doesn't. It makes him feel ill. It makes him feel like a traitor.

"I could have helped you." Grant's words are a faint murmur. "I know what it's like to be manipulated, Skye. I would have helped you."

Skye looks at him with eyes of pain. She swallows, the noise somehow loud in the cell. Grant can barely breathe.

"No. You couldn't." She says finally. "I'm past help."

Grant wants to ask her what she means by that. Before she betrayed them, surely there was a chance for redemption. Now, there's no way she could ever regain their trust, but then… if she had told him, he would have listened to her. That's the stark truth that he cannot escape.

"Ward." Another voice says calmly from behind him. He spins around; Skye's eyes flick upwards. Both of them see Melinda May standing on the top of the stairs, with her arms crossed and a face of thunder. Her body is silhouetted by the light filtering in through the open door, like a black stain in the air.

"May," Skye starts, her eyes glued to the older woman, but May silences her with a mere look. Her heels echo in the small dungeon of a room as she stalks towards them, her expression never changing. She strides straight to Grant and grabs his arm, pulling him towards the stairs without another word. Grant lets the woman pull him out of the cell, but is surprised when she slams him into the wall outside, kicking the door to Vault D shut.

"What the hell are you playing at?" She hisses, her eyes staring at him. Grant opens up his mouth, but his words die in his throat. "Talking to Skye, without permission? Ward, don't be stupid!"

Grant still can't find his words, so May keeps talking, her eyes burning into his.

"I know you're hurting." She says softly. "But you need to keep your calm, okay? Don't let her, or anyone else, get to you?"

Her hands tighten on his collar.

"Ward, you're strong. So don't let this… blunder upset your entire life. Skye's just a distant memory." She tells him.

"How can she be a distant memory when she's living here?" Grant asks, desperately hoping that maybe May will have the answers he seeks. How can he get rid of the disease that is Skye? "When I still think about her, when I still have to talk to her… She's going to influence the rest of my life, May."

"Did you mean it when you told her that you would have understood?" May says, and Grant turns his face away from her, pretty much confirming the truth. "I thought so."

"I know saying that isn't right." Grant says quietly. "Because that's basically like me saying I'd help her cover up her deception."

"You're not in your right mind right now." May says finally. "I suppose I could overlook it. But Ward – you have to stop thinking about her. You have to move on."

 _And how am I meant to do that when you and Coulson keep sending me back to her?_ Grant wants to ask her, but he keeps silent.

"I'll make sure Coulson doesn't call you up on this, but next time, you're on your own. I won't help you again." May releases his collar, and then walks off without another word.

After May's disappeared from sight, Grant lets his body sink down to the floor, resting his forehead against his bent knees. He wishes he could forget about the woman in the basement. He wishes he could stop replaying every inch of their conversations, trying to find the clues she had to have left him.

But he can't.


End file.
